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‘And a quarter of an hour before that,’ Barnie added.
‘Then this time we really need to move,’ Hope retorted, but still couldn’t quite get herself to stand up.
‘Come on then.’ Cam stood and held out a hand to her.
‘Such a boy scout,’ Barnie mocked.
‘You’re welcome to stay if you want,’ Cam said, turning to offer a hand to steady Amelia as she extricated herself from between the bench and the table.
‘I might just do that,’ Barnie replied. He looked around the others who were still seated. ‘Anyone for a nightcap?’
‘And that is definitely my cue to go.’ Rhys swung his long legs over the bench and rose. ‘Some of us have a 5 a.m. appointment with a milking machine.’
‘Kinky.’ Barnie waggled his brows. ‘So you’re going to leave me all alone?’ He jutted his bottom lip in a good approximation of a pouting child.
‘Looks like it, Lysander.’
Hope laughed as Cam put his arm around her. ‘Don’t be mean to him.’
‘I’m not being mean,’ Cam protested. ‘I’m not forcing him to come with us, am I?’ He dug his phone out of his pocket and waved it at Barnie. ‘Hey, remember earlier when you mentioned you’d left your phone behind?’
Barnie frowned at him. ‘Yeah, what of it?’
Cam flicked on the torch app and flashed it in his friend’s face. ‘Oh, just wondering how you’re going to find your way back alone without it, seeing as it’s going to be pitch dark in approximately…’ He tipped his head back to study the sky. ‘About five minutes.’
‘Oh, shit!’ Barnie scrambled up from the bench. ‘And Meena was going to text me! I’m going to be in big trouble, I’m telling her you all held me hostage and forced me to eat pudding against my will.’ They left the garden on another wave of laughter.
As they stepped outside the pub, Amelia reached out and drew Hope into a hug. ‘Thanks for tonight, it was just what I needed.’
Hope kissed her cheek. ‘It was so lovely to spend time with you, and I’m really sorry we’ve let things slip lately. Let’s make it a regular thing, okay?’
Amelia nodded. ‘I’d like that.’ She huffed out a breath that was half a laugh. ‘We’re going to be seeing plenty of each other for the foreseeable future. Mum saw the doctor today and her chest infection hasn’t responded to the antibiotics as well as they would like. He said if it gets any worse she might end up in hospital for a couple of days for a stronger course of treatment.’
God, that was the last thing they needed. ‘Oh, what a shame. Will you keep me in the loop when you find out more? You know I’d be happy to pop in and check on your mum while you’re at work.’
Amelia hugged her again. ‘Thank you. I feel like we’re just such a burden on everyone at the moment.’
Before Hope could answer, Rhys came over and slung an arm around Amelia’s shoulders. ‘Not that bollocks again? Come on, I’ll walk you home and explain for the hundredth and first time why you’re not a burden on anyone, especially not your friends.’
‘The last thing I need is a lecture from you, Rhys Travers,’ Amelia retorted with a snort, but she hooked her arm around his waist. Turning towards the rest of them, she waved with her free hand. ‘Night, guys. Thanks for a lovely evening!’
‘Night,’ Hope replied along with a chorus from the others. ‘Do you want us to wait for you, Rhys?’
He shook his head. ‘No, I’ll only be a couple of minutes. I’ll catch you up.’
Hope watched them walk away for a moment then held out her hand to Cam. They fell into step, the others a little way ahead. ‘Are those two going to get back together, do you think?’ Cam asked.
She shook her head. ‘I don’t think so, though I’ll never say never about anything. I think it was one of those things that burned hot for a while but fizzled out just as quickly. I’m glad they’ve remained friends, though.’
Cam was quiet for a while. ‘Do you think that’s what might happen with us?’
The question pulled Hope up short. Was he feeling like they rushed into things and was now regretting it? He hadn’t given any indication he wasn’t enjoying their time together. Hadn’t he said earlier he would be sending Mrs Cotteridge flowers next Valentine’s Day for introducing them? That hadn’t sounded like someone who was second guessing things. She glanced down at their clasped hands and decided to be brave. ‘I don’t think so. We’re not teenagers in the first flush. I know we’ve grown close in a relatively short amount of time, but I’m not a silly kid. I know what I want in my life, and for the foreseeable future, I see you playing a very big part in it.’
Cam drew to a halt and took her in his arms. ‘I’m glad you feel that way about things, because that’s exactly how I feel, too.’
24
The rest of the week passed in what seemed like a blink of an eye and before Cam knew it, it was the weekend again. Now they understood what they were dealing with, the excavation works had begun in earnest. With the aid of the groundworkers, they’d stripped back the turf around where the test pits had been sunk and extended each to around five square metres. Barnie’s main focus remained in the archives as he continued to piece together the story of what had happened on the site; in particular, Cam was hoping he could find out more about the location of the crypt. Until they could narrow down a search area, they’d decided to cordon off the area around the chapel and beneath the oak tree to avoid any potential accidents. There was no telling how safely the labourers had covered up the opening of the crypt and the last thing he wanted was a cave-in.
